Building With the Architecture of Trees

WHOLE TREES
R
ARCHITECTURE & STRUCTURES
www.wholetrees.com
Wooden Cities
Stoddard,WI
Madison,WI
February, 2013
Roald Gundersen, AIA, Co-Founder and Principal
WholeTrees Main Office at Driftless Farm
134 acres of sustainable managed forest
Satellite Office in Madison, WI
Architects have Four common structural materials to
choose from:
1- Steel
2- Concrete
3- Processed Wood
4- Round & Milled Timbers
WholeTrees offers a 5th option
R
Builiding-shed
Issues
Inherent in Creating
Structural Systems
Solutions
in Round Timber
Structural Systems
1- Depleted Resources
2- Degraded the Environment
3- High Energy Use and Climate Change
4- Pollution
5- Export of Jobs & Industry
6- Cost Volatility
7- Strength&Durability
8- Damage to Communities
1- Regenerates Resources
2- Enhances the Environment
3- Reduces Energy/ Stabilizes Climate
4- Reduces Pollution
5- Produces Local Jobs & Industry
6- Stabilizes Costs
7- Enhances Strength&Durability
8- Builds Local Community
Comparative Resource Use Across
Structural Materials
Embodied Energy
STEEL
PROCESSED LUMBER
CONCRETE
ROUND TIMBER
(kWhrs energy
per metric ton)
-2
CO2 /Stored or
Produced
(ratio by weight)
0
2
STEEL
PROCESSED LUMBER
CONCRETE
ROUND TIMBER
4
RECYCLED STEEL
6
Green Building Codes:
UK, EU, Canada
Il Duomo, Fillipo Brunalleschi
Florance, Italy, 1436
Borgund stave-church
Norway 1150 AD
Reconstructed Mandan Lodge at On-A-Slant Village
Bismarck ND, circa 1575
Trees “invented”
tall structures
Kakushiji Temple
Nara Japan 8th Century
Tall Structures
Lifecyle Tower, Austria by CREE
Long Spans
Olympic Oval, BC,
Cannon Designs
Curvilinear Designs
Arena Stage, Washington DC,
Bing Thom Architects
Gridshell Structures
Savill Gardens Gridshell, England
Glen Howells Architects
Gridshell Structures
Metropol Parasol, Seville, Spain
Jurgen Mayer H.
Intact concentric
tree rings preserve
the strength of
Round Timbers
Artist Giuseppe Penone removes the rings
of growth revealing the ‘sapling within’.
WholeTrees Architecture
R
Uses unmilled small diameter round timbers from forest thinning and tree tops
Uses branching and curved aspects of trees to provide axial and lateral bracing
Uses wood’s tensile strength
Is dimensionally tolerant and non-modular
Can be structurally oversized
Round timbers:
Are a self-replicating carbon nano-fiber comprised primarily of air,
water and sunlight.
Are 50% stronger in bending than milled wood.
Have a weight to strength ratio equal to steel in compression and
twice that of steel in tension.
Clean the environment and reduce global warming while being
produced.
Occur in the backyard, are incredibly cheap to produce and hugely
abundant and accessible.
Are safe and effective to use and their waste can be composted or
burned for heat.
Have over 200 million years of environmental and structural testing.
Are not a proprietary material, cannot be patented or be kept as a
trade secret.
Round Timber is 50% Stronger than Milled
Lumber in Compression and Tension
A
B
Compression Fibers
Tension Fibers
The largest timber (A) that can be milled from any given
log (B) will be only 17-33% of the strength of the log.
Trees are Naturally Pre-Stressed
Wind Loads Strengthen Outermost Fibers
Tension
Tension
Compression
Tension
Compression
Tension
Compression
Relative Bending Strength
CUMULATIVE FREQUENCY
1.0
0.8
Sawn Timber
0.6
0.4
Small round wood
0.2
0.0
20
30
40
50
60
70
BENDING STRENGTH (N/mm2)
80
Testing: Strength of “Y” Branches
From the USDA Forest Products Lab....
Testing: Strength of “Y” Branches
From the USDA Forest Products Lab....
...To a building near you.
WholeTrees
Engineered Products Include
R
Branched Columns
Column and Beam Assemblies
Open-web Truss Assemblies
Custom Assemblies
Continuing Testing: Life Cycle Analysis
Yale School of Forestry Masters
Candidate, Christopher Cooke,
conducted a comparative LCA or Life
Cycle analysis in 2010.
An LCA takes a systematic account of all
the materials and energy required in the
life cycle of a product from manufacture
to disposal.
This LCA compared two residential
(conventional and passive solar) and
two building materials (stick framed and
round timber) and assess their lifetime
impacts.
Conclusion:
Round timber construction “has
significant benefit over conventional construction in most
Round Timbers are
Renewable.
Forest Cullings make use of an abundant
resource ...
... that is replenished in 20-30 years
as opposed to 40-80 years for
conventionally harvested timber.
Create jobs and income from forests
Use waste from managed forests
Create an extra crop to which adds
value to forests
Restore forest health
Tree Peeling Process
Round Timbers are Cost Stabilizing
Unlike steel and concrete which
fluctuate with the commodities market,
round timbers are ...
Low Energy
Non-Commodity
Regionally Sourced
Renewable
Round Timber Assembly in Fairfield Iowa
Forest Stakeholders
Forest Land is Owned by:
• National Forests
• State Forests
• Municipalities
• Universities
• Public Schools
• Tribes
• Individuals
Building Codes
International Building Code
Type IV Heavy Timber Construction
Construction Specifiers Institute
Section 06130 Heavy Timbers
Wisconsin ILBA
2304.10 Heavy Timber Construction
Minnesota State Building Code
602.4 Heavy Timber Construction
South Dakota Building Building Code
602.4 Heavy Timber Construction
LEED Credits Applicable to
Round Wood Structures
-Materials & Resources (1 Credit)
-Rapidly Renewable Resources (1 Credit)
-Regional Materials (2 Credit)
-Credified Wood (1 Credit)
Potential Additional Credits:
Construction Waste Management (2 Credits)
Material Reuse (2 Credits)
Carbon Credits (Future Points)
}
9 credits possible
Living Building Challenge
Sustainable Living Center
Maharishi University, Fairfield IA
5
UPPER BEAM SPLICE DETAIL
TYPICAL
TOP OF BEAM
7
SADDLE JOINT DETAIL
TYPICAL
9
LAP JOINT DETAIL
TYPICAL
7” DIA. AT
BEAM MIDSPAN
7” DIA. AT
BEAM END
9” DIA. MIN
AT BEAM SPLICE
7” DIA. AT
BEAM END
+/- 1/4”
9 1/2” DIA. AT
BEAM MIDSPAN
10
+/- 1/4”
+/- 1/4”
9” DIA. MIN
AT BEAM HEIGHT
9” DIA. MIN
AT BEAM HEIGHT
LOWER BEAM SPLICE DETAIL
TYPICAL
TOP OF BEAM
8
KNEE BRACE DETAIL
TYPICAL
+/- 1/4”
+/- 1/4”
+/- 1/4”
COLUMN BASE DETAIL
TYPICAL
6
2
HALL SECTION
SCALE: 1/4” = 1’
LOBBY
1/2” KERF CUT FROM TOP
LONGITUDINAL SECTION
TYPICAL
(4) 3/4”di. CARRIAGE BOLTS
WITH 1 1/2” WASHER AND NUT
ENTRY
3/8” x 4” x 18”
STEEL PLATE (A36)
N
4
PLAN OF CENTRAL HALL
SCALE: 1/4” = 1’
2
3
3 1/2” MIN THREADED
PENETRATION
5
PLAN
UPPER BEAM SPLICE DETAIL
SCALE: 3/4” = 1’
1/2” KERF CUT FROM TOP
NOTCH DEPTH ON EACH
MEMBER IS 3 1/4” MIN
3/8” LAG BOLT
COUNTERSINK HOLE AND
CREATE FLUSH SURFACE
WITH WOODEN PLUG
3/16” x 4” x 14” STEEL WITH
3/8” x 4” x 10” KNIFE PLATE
SIDE VIEW
NOTCHED COLUMN SECTION
TYPICAL
MIN 3” DEPTH
PROVIDE FLAT BEARING
SURFACES AT INTERFACE
BETWEEN MEMBERS.
2 1/2” NOTCH
(2) 3/8” LAG BOLTS
SPACED 1 1/2” APART
3/4” CARRAIGE BOLTS
WITH 1 1/2” WASHER,
LOCK WASHER AND NUT
HALL SECTION
TYPICAL
(6) 3/4” DIA. CARRIAGE BOLTS
WITH 1 1/2” WASHER AND NUT
SPACING: 3 3/4”
3/4” CARRIAGE BOLT
WITH 1 1/2” DIA.
WASHER ON NUT
3/8” x 4” x 26”
STEEL PLATE (A36)
3/8” x 15” x 15” STEEL PLATE
WITH (2) 3/8” x 6” ANCHOR STUDS
SLAB THICKENED TO 9”
FILED WELD
BASE PLATES A AND B
FRONT VIEW
2” FLAT TOP FOR
TRUSS BEARING
SIDE VIEW
SIDE VIEW
6
COLUMN BASE DETAIL
SCALE: 3/4” = 1’
EACH MEMBER IS
NOTCHED 3 1/2”(+/- 1/4”)
THE BEARING SURFACES
OF MEMBERS ARE FLAT
FRONT VIEW
PLAN
7
SADDLE JOINT DETAIL
SCALE: 3/4” = 1’
FRONT VIEW
FRONT VIEW
KNEE BRACES
ARE 4” DIAMETER
FRONT VIEW
PLAN
SIDE VIEW
8
KNEE BRACE DETAIL
SCALE: 3/4” = 1’
SIDE VIEW
PLAN
9
LAP JOINT DETAIL
SCALE: 3/4” = 1’
PLAN
SIDE VIEW
10
PLAN
LOWER BEAM SPLICE DETAIL
SCALE: 3/4” = 1’
* NOTE * ALL TIMBERS ARE ASPEN, TREATED WITH TIM-BOR AND FINISHED WITH SYMPHONY URETHANE
Approval
Drawings
1.8.09
BRAHMISTAN
1
1
HALL
NOTCHED COLUMN SECTION
SCALE: 1/4” = 1’
FRONT VIEW
LONGITUDINAL SECTION
ENTRY
3
SUSTAINABLE LIVING CENTER
LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF HALL
SCALE: 1/4” = 1’
SHEET NO
1
MAHARISHI UNIVERSITY
to face of wall
Sustainable Living Center
Maharishi University, Fairfield IA
Faster Construction
6-8 weeks fabrication
3 days delivered and erected on site
Living Building Challenge
Maharishi University Sustainable Living Center
Punta Vista, Costa Rica
Punta Vista, Costa Rica
Chrysalis Residence
Bookend Residence: Thigmomorphogenesis
Kara Woods Residence: Non-linearity
Tussen Taak Residence
Medici Restaurant, Normal IL
Myric Hixon Ecopark Atrium
Optional Stair Detail B
Myric Hixon Ecopark Stair
Optional Stair Detail B
Myric Hixon Ecopark Climbing Structure
Sustainable Living Center Construction
Maharishi University Sustainable Living Building ,
Fairfield, IA, 2010
La Crosse Area Residence
Underhill Residence, Ridgeway, WI
Organic Valley Headquarters- Pavilion
Re-Purposed Barn
Philadelphia Community Farm
Re-Purposed Barn
Philadelphia Community Farm
Native American Heritage Center
Calhoun County, Iowa
Native American Heritage Center
Calhoun County, Iowa
Existing
Camping Area
Calhoun County
Rain Garden/
Pond
75 OverÁow Spaces
(gravel surface)
20 parking spaces
(3 handicapped)
Future
Expansion
Coach Parking
New Building
Boat Landing
Future
Expansion
Entry Sign
Walking Path
Restored Prairie
Walking path
North Twin Lake
Overnight Volunteer Facility
Angelic Organics Learning Center
Case Study: Mixed Use Urban In fill Building
Case Study: Big Box Store
Case Study: Bandshell
66'
26'
ADDITONAL STAGE
(2,100 sf total)
BRANCHING
COLUMNS
CURRENT
RISERS REMAIN
ROOF LINE
OVERHEAD
20'
RAMP UP
STORAGE
DRESSING
ROOMS
RESTROOMS
40'
Our Collaborative Process
WholeTrees Project Designers
and Structural Engineers work
with:
Architects
Engineers
General Contractors
Other Materials Specifiers
Then source from
Regional Inventory or Supply Chains
And provide to our clients:
Prefabrication and Processing
Fireproofing
Shipping and Installation
Roald Gundersen, AIA
Whole Trees Architecture & Structures
www.wholetrees.com
May the forest be with you...
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Additional Resources
USDA Forest Products Lab
American Wood Council
Canadian Wood Council
Wood Works
Wood Works! Alberta
Whole Trees Architecture and Structures
www.fpl.fs.fed.us
www.awc.org
www.cwc.ca
www.woodworks.org
www.wood-works.org
www.wholetrees.com